As usual, Willie Fritz was vague about the injury status of quarterback Jonathan Banks on Tuesday, not wanting Oklahoma to know Tulane's plans early in the week. He said they hoped Banks would be able to play Saturday. Banks participated in individual drills today in full uniform but did not get any work against the scout-team defense, taking mental reps rather than physical ones. The exact nature of his injury remains unclear, but he was in a lot of pain after falling on the football while being tackled in the second quarter at Navy, and it may be a rib injury.
"We're hoping he's going to be ready this weekend," Fritz said. "He got hit and he landed on the ball. We think he's going to be fine."
Jonathan Brantley and true freshman Khalil McClain were the No. 1 and 2 quarterbacks today, and that likely will be the pecking order on Saturday. Unless Banks is close to 100 percent, I see no reason to play him against the Sooners. Let him rest and see if he can be ready for what would be a must-win game against Army the following Saturday at Yulman Stadium.
Safety Rod Teamer and tight end Kendall Ardoin also missed practice, Teamer had a boot on his left leg. The last time I saw Ardoin, he was being escorted to the locker room in the second half against Navy with an unspecified injury. Since this was the Tuesday press conference and Fritz does not like to talk about injuries, I did not ask about Ardoin, but I did ask about Teamer, a team leader who made a really nice play on his 52-yard touchdown return of a fumble against Navy. It's not easy to reach down and pick up the ball cleanly near a crowd, but he did it, pivoted and was off to the races.
If Teamer is healthy Saturday, I think he could make a 10-point difference in the final margin.
"We're hoping he's going to be able to go," Fritz said. "He's got a sore foot."
If you didn't catch my story for The Advocate on the AAC admitting its officials botched the call on Navy's last punt, missing an illegal-procedure penalty on a player who was not set at the snap after shifting, here it is.
http://www.theadvocate.com/new_orle...cle_7f12cbd6-9741-11e7-a338-8bf631c4abc3.html
Fritz elaborated on the statement he released yesterday through Tulane's athletic department:
"Our officials do a great job, but that was a tough play," he said. "Number one, I didn't feel like the officials gave us enough time to match. Number two, there was a big-time illegal procedure on the play that should have been called a hundred times out of a hundred. Three, they declined the penalty, they moved the sticks and then they came back and changed it. It took a couple of minutes to figure out where the chains were. I had some tough plays in the game, and they had a tough play on that one. Overall, though, they do an excellent job. It's unfortunate. We still would have to drive the ball and score and all those other things, but I wish we would have had the opportunity."
Sean Wilson and Keyshawn McLeod, who both were injured against Navy but returned later, are healthy. Wilson admitted he went numb after receiving a cut block, but he got better quickly and played well after re-entering the game. Fritz praised his performance, with Tulane limiting Navy to less than 200 rushing yards.
"He played great," he said. "He is really playing at a higher level. He's put on about 20 pounds and gotten much, much stronger. He did a good job on the line of scrimmage. He really played well."
Chase Kuerschen practiced alongside P.J. Hall at safety today with the first-team defense. I did not ask, but it appears that Taris Shenall will be benched after blowing a coverage early in the first quarter against Navy.
Corey Dauphine has shed his knee brace and was playing catch with a trainer when I arrived. Later, he got on the exercise bike. I will ask Fritz about his practice status tomorrow, but he clearly is making progress after suffering preseason knee injury. The more he practices down the road, the better, because he will be counted on as one of the feature backs next season and does not want to get rusty.
"We're hoping he's going to be ready this weekend," Fritz said. "He got hit and he landed on the ball. We think he's going to be fine."
Jonathan Brantley and true freshman Khalil McClain were the No. 1 and 2 quarterbacks today, and that likely will be the pecking order on Saturday. Unless Banks is close to 100 percent, I see no reason to play him against the Sooners. Let him rest and see if he can be ready for what would be a must-win game against Army the following Saturday at Yulman Stadium.
Safety Rod Teamer and tight end Kendall Ardoin also missed practice, Teamer had a boot on his left leg. The last time I saw Ardoin, he was being escorted to the locker room in the second half against Navy with an unspecified injury. Since this was the Tuesday press conference and Fritz does not like to talk about injuries, I did not ask about Ardoin, but I did ask about Teamer, a team leader who made a really nice play on his 52-yard touchdown return of a fumble against Navy. It's not easy to reach down and pick up the ball cleanly near a crowd, but he did it, pivoted and was off to the races.
If Teamer is healthy Saturday, I think he could make a 10-point difference in the final margin.
"We're hoping he's going to be able to go," Fritz said. "He's got a sore foot."
If you didn't catch my story for The Advocate on the AAC admitting its officials botched the call on Navy's last punt, missing an illegal-procedure penalty on a player who was not set at the snap after shifting, here it is.
http://www.theadvocate.com/new_orle...cle_7f12cbd6-9741-11e7-a338-8bf631c4abc3.html
Fritz elaborated on the statement he released yesterday through Tulane's athletic department:
"Our officials do a great job, but that was a tough play," he said. "Number one, I didn't feel like the officials gave us enough time to match. Number two, there was a big-time illegal procedure on the play that should have been called a hundred times out of a hundred. Three, they declined the penalty, they moved the sticks and then they came back and changed it. It took a couple of minutes to figure out where the chains were. I had some tough plays in the game, and they had a tough play on that one. Overall, though, they do an excellent job. It's unfortunate. We still would have to drive the ball and score and all those other things, but I wish we would have had the opportunity."
Sean Wilson and Keyshawn McLeod, who both were injured against Navy but returned later, are healthy. Wilson admitted he went numb after receiving a cut block, but he got better quickly and played well after re-entering the game. Fritz praised his performance, with Tulane limiting Navy to less than 200 rushing yards.
"He played great," he said. "He is really playing at a higher level. He's put on about 20 pounds and gotten much, much stronger. He did a good job on the line of scrimmage. He really played well."
Chase Kuerschen practiced alongside P.J. Hall at safety today with the first-team defense. I did not ask, but it appears that Taris Shenall will be benched after blowing a coverage early in the first quarter against Navy.
Corey Dauphine has shed his knee brace and was playing catch with a trainer when I arrived. Later, he got on the exercise bike. I will ask Fritz about his practice status tomorrow, but he clearly is making progress after suffering preseason knee injury. The more he practices down the road, the better, because he will be counted on as one of the feature backs next season and does not want to get rusty.